Celebrating 40 years of the Ford Fiesta.

The Ford Fiesta has recently celebrated 40 years since it was launched to the world in 1976. That got Jennings Motor Group thinking – what is a better way to help celebrate its birthday than a top 10 chart!

1 – There is one Ford Fiesta for every single person in Croatia.

The last 40 years has seen a mammoth 4,339,149 Ford Fiestas sold in the UK alone – enough for one for every person in Croatia. Working out at one for every 20 cars sold in the UK, a further 14 million were sold across the whole of Europe.

2 – Henry Ford II named the Ford Fiesta

The son of Edsel Ford and oldest grandson of the legendary Henry Ford chose the name due to Ford’s growing links to Spain where the original engines where produced.

3- It is very popular still

Celebrating its millionth sale in 1979, it has continued to sell well ever since. In 1996 more than 133,000 new Ford Fiesta cars hit the UK roads.

4- It beat the Ford Escort

Previously the Ford Escort was the UK’s bestselling car amassing 4,105,961 sales. Surpassing this sales number in 2014, the Ford Fiesta is continuing to go strong.

5- There has been a Ford Fiesta RS

A Ford Fiesta RS edition was released in 1992 with a 1.8l 16v petrol version replacing the Ford RS Turbo that was launched in 1990.

6- The legendary Ford Fiesta XR2

The staple drive for many a boy racer, the Ford Fiesta XR2 was the first fiesta to break the 100mph barrier thanks to a stiffer suspension, a meatier look and a 1.6l petrol engine.

7- Airbags were not always included

The airbag was not standard until 1993 – the same year as Ace of Base hit number one with All That She Wants.

8- There have been many editions!

Since its launch in 1976 there have been six editions of the Ford Fiesta with many other face lifts and improvements across the years. When the 6th version was released in 2008 it became the first version to emit under 100g/km of CO2.

9- Smaller engines pack a might punch

The Ford Fiesta is back to where it started with its current version reverting back to a 1.0l engine. In between there have been many engine options including 1.6 petrol and 1.8l diesel s.

10- How about a 200bhp option?

Launched in 2016, the Ford Fiesta ST200 maximises a 1.6l engine to produce a whopping 197bhp plus an ‘extra 15bhp’ when using the ‘overboost’ setting. We don’t recommend testing the top speed of 143mph and the 0-62mph time of 6.7seconds.

Find out more about the latest Ford Fiesta at Jennings Motor Group – call 0333 414 9750 to speak to a Ford Fiesta specialist today.